Academic sexual harassment represents an illegal violation of a student's constitutionally guaranteed civil rights. There are two basic types of academic sexual harassment : (1) Quid Pro Quo and (2) Hostile Environment.
 

Quid Pro Quo This phrase is Latin and essentially translates as "this for that". With quid pro quo harassment, a professor typically offers some tangible academic benefit (test score, project grade, course grade, thesis approval, letter of recommendation) in exchange for sexual favors from a student. Quid pro quo is considered to be the most blatant form of illegal sexual harassment and clearly represents an abuse of a professor's power.
 

Hostile Environment This type of harassment involves a sexually charged learning environment that (1) interferes with a student's academic performance and/or (2) is perceived by the student to be threatening, intimidating, and offensive. Hostile environment harassment typically involves a repeated pattern of sexually offensive comments and/or behaviors on the part of a professor that is unrelated to course content. For example an economics professor who frequently discusses sexual intercourse and degrades women during class time would clearly be guilty of hostile environment sexual harassment.
 

Examples of Potentially Illegal Sexual Harassment
 

• Verbal: Sexual innuendos, suggestive comments, insulting/vulgar/lewd remarks, jokes of a sexual nature, requests for dates, sexual propositions, and threats.

•  Nonverbal: Sexually suggestive objects, posters, photos, cartoons, or graffiti, suggestive or insulting sounds, leering, whistling, and obscene gestures.

• Physical: Unwelcome physical contact, including touching, pinching, petting, brushing against one's body, fondling, and sexual activities.

• Non-Participant/Favoritism: Academic benefits (grades, desirable assignments, internships, grants, assistantships, thesis/dissertation approval, recommendations, etc.) are received by an individual on the basis of his/her sexual relationship with a professor/administrator, to the disadvantage of other students.

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Legal Framework
The legal framework for academic sexual harassment is provided by three major federal statues:
 

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
 
• Title IX of the Educational Amendment of 1972 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and

•  the Civil Rights Act of 1991
 

This statue pertains to workplace discrimination. Nevertheless, it has served as the legal foundation for defining and resolving sexual harassment issues in academic settings. Also if a student is sexually harassed in her/his capacity as a part-time or full-time university employee, Title VII is directly relevant. Major provisions include the following:
 

• Prohibits employment discrimination as a function of sex, among other factors.

• Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as the enforcement agency for Title VII.

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1980) issued specific guidelines defining illegal sexual harassment in the workplace that apply to organizations with 15 or more employees. (These guidelines have been extended by the courts to include academic settings.)

Harassment on the basis of sex is a violation of Sec. 703 of Title VII: (of the 1964 Civil Rights Act). Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:

        1.  submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition
             of an individual's employment.

        2.  submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for
             employment decisions affecting such individual, or

        3.  such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an
             individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or
             offensive working environment,

 
Note: (1) and (2) above involve what is known as "quid pro quo" sexual harassment (this for that). (3) above involves what is known as "hostile environment" sexual harassment.

 

| Title IX of the Educational Amendment of 1972 | Civil Rights Act of 1991 |

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http://www.iun.edu/~rights/definition.htm  Comments: Dr. Charles Hobson